


anhedonia

by Drhair76



Series: Serendipity----(the act of finding something good without looking for it) [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Mental Health Issues, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Nebula (Marvel) Feels, Nebula (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Not Canon Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Ned Leeds, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-05-12
Packaged: 2020-03-01 09:27:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18797590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drhair76/pseuds/Drhair76
Summary: : (n) the loss of interest and enjoyment in all activities that you once liked; the feeling of not caring anymore.Ned looked upset too. There was a downwards tug at his lip and a worried glint in his eyes that had Harley worrying as well.“He's on patrol? Now?” Harley asked. Ned sat down at the desk and started switching on screens.“Yeah.” Mj answered shortly, sitting right next to Ned. Their thighs brushed together for a brief second and Harley could see Ned's anxious keyboard clicking slow.“Is he okay?”or, Peter is not okay and Harley is a good brother.





	anhedonia

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Mental Health awareness month. <3
> 
> http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may

“He quit band.” 

Harley looked up from his Stark phone to Nebula's straight face. 

Well, her face was almost always straight, but there was something off about it today. There was a slight narrow to her eyes, a small wrinkle of emotion that Harley couldn't place. 

“Who?” Harley knew there was only one person she could be talking about but clarification was never a bad thing to have. 

Nebula took that question as an invitation to step into the lab and sit down across from him. Which, conveniently, was Peter's normal seat. 

Harley was expecting him to be back from patrol by now, but he might have gotten held up with Mj or May, so he wasn't worried about it. 

“Peter.” Nebula answered, her dark eyes flickering down to Harley's phone before moving back up to his face. 

Harley could tell that was her way of asking a question without actually  _ asking _ the question. 

Apparently, her father didn't approve of many questions so she stopped asking them outright. It made Harley mad and made him hate that dehydrated grape even more than he already did (if that was physically possible) but there wasn't much he could do about that now that he was dead. 

“I'm trying to see if I can take out the tracker without engaging the alarms.” He explained. Nebula's face didn't shift but somehow Harley could sense an air of respect. 

“You won't be able to do it.” Friday cut in and Harley rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. 

“Fry, I can do things that you can't even dream of.” 

“Sure you can.” Friday said. She had been becoming more and more human lately. 

Countering with sarcasm, agreeing with glee, her voice was hardly ever cold and robotic anymore. Bruce hypothesized that it was the amount of people she interacted with on a daily basis; she was learning from observation. 

Which made a ton of sense. 

Friday acted the most like a teenager with the capacity to be serious and take care of business because she talked with Peter and Harley and Morgan the most. 

Karen acted the most like a child which made sense considering how new she was. Sometimes she would say something and it sounded so much like something that Peter would say that it kinda freaked Harley out. 

Speaking of Peter. 

“Peter quit band?” Harley clarified and Nebula nodded slowly. 

“How do you know?”

Nebula's eyes shifted to the side slightly and Harley frowned. 

“I just know.” 

Harley wasn't stupid. Nebula was part robot, which meant a  _ lot  _ in terms of knowing information. It probably should be more concerning that she keeps tabs on them and all the extracurriculars they take, but he knew she did it out of her own (weird) version of care. 

“Okay.” Harley hummed. “Well, he might have quit band because he wanted to focus more on decathlon. I know that he's been taking that more seriously.” 

“Hmm. I will take your word on it.” Nebula said shortly. She turned to leave and Harley frowned. 

“You could stay.” He offered, lifting the phone slightly. “It might be fun.”

Nebula turned back. “Fun?”

“Yeah, I mean, I'm taking apart a Stark phone, what could be more fun than that?” 

Instead of sitting back down, her gaze turned down to the phone. There was a weird form a pity there that gave Harley pause. 

“It is not fun.” She said vaguely. 

This time when she left, Harley didn't bother asking her to stay. He couldn't help but feel like he just messed up somehow. 

…

Harley tapped his foot absently as he waited for Peter's class to be over. 

School ended about thirty minutes earlier for Harley, a fact that Harley had no qualms about flaunting in his face. Tony argued that Harley definitely had the brains to get into Peter's school, but Harley would rather be closer to his sister than anything else. 

After their mom died, Tony was insistent that they move in with him. He payed for an on-call counselor, therapy session, and anything they might have needed. 

Harley knew they were connected. 

Tony was the father that Harley thought he'd never get. 

He made sure that he was always there, even when he couldn't be  _ there.  _ It shouldn't make any sense but nothing really made sense now and that was the way that Harley liked it. 

His real father left when he was a kid, leaving him, his mom and his sister alone. Tony showed up for a brief second, offering reprieve and leaving Harley with more than he deserved. 

Then, his mother got sick. 

Harley was frantic, worried with getting a job, debating selling all the cool toys that Tony had gifted him because hospital bill were not a piece of cake.

When a strawberry blonde woman, which he now recognized as Pepper, smiled at him before walking out of the hospital lobby, he knew he wouldn't have to worry. 

And it was fine for a while. 

Harley's fridge had been restocked and transportation from home to school had been set up for him and his sister so they didn't have to walk. 

But then, she got worse. 

She kept getting worse as time went on but those last couple of moments that Harley had with her went by so quickly. 

_ Too  _ quickly. 

Harley wasn't surprised to see Tony a day later. He was without his pancho, his suit, his colored sunglasses. He didn't come as Iron man, the superhero or Tony Stark, the billionaire or Anthony Stark, the visionary. 

He was simply Tony.

Tony the mechanic. 

At first, Harley lashed out, his grief turning to unjustified anger. Tony never snapped back, simply allowing Harley to release his anger and catching him when his anger wasn't enough to hold him up anymore.

And Tony's been catching him ever since. 

Harley was jolted out of his thoughts by a tap on the arm. 

“Uh, are you Parker's cousin?” 

Harley blinked up to see a medium height, tan kid with black hair. The slicked back style made him seem like an asshole. 

“I'm his  _ brother _ .” Harley said shortly, put off by his snobbish tone. 

And that was another new thing too. 

He'd lost a mother and gained a brother and a younger sister almost within the same month of each other. 

You mess with Harley's family, you'd regret it. 

The guy made a face, looking Harkey up and down, obviously noting the differences in stature and looks.

Harley took it back. It wasn't his hair that made him look like an asshole, it was his entire face. 

“Well I'm Flash.” He shrugged, obviously not considering Peter and Harley's relationship of any importance to him. The name Flash pinged at his memory slightly, although he couldn't place down where Peter has mentioned it before. 

“Something is wrong with your... _ brother.”  _ Flash continued. 

The way Flash said brother, with a mixture of a sneer and a scoff of disbelief had Harley's fists clenching, but before he could start anything, Flash just shrugged. 

“Just fix it.” He huffed. “It's annoying. I can't make fun of him when he looks like a kicked puppy.”

Harley bristled, miffed at the idea of this douchebag telling him what to do when Flash's name finally placed in Harley's head. 

_ This _ was the dude who made fun of and teased Peter. 

The name that Peter had refused to mention when Harley knowingly asked who he was. The name that Ned told Harley was the absolute worst and while Peter has gotten over his childish taunts and bland name calling, Harley hadn't. 

Fortunately for Flash, by the time Harley figured that out, he was already walking away. Pulling him back to punch him in the face would cause a scene. 

Oh well. There was always next time. 

...

Mj was intimidating. 

That was probably the only way Harley could describe her. 

She was stony, snarky and could probably beat him up with her glare alone. 

He's only had a couple of conversations with her, but that was more than enough to know that she was exactly like Pepper: not to be crossed. 

Ned was the exact opposite from her. 

He was bubbly, optimistic and clumsy. The exact kind of person that Harley would expect Peter to hang out with. 

Harley enjoyed both of their personalities and loved watching Peter interact with them. There was something comfortable about the way they all were with each other that Harley found fascinating. 

Whenever Mj would call Peter or Ned a name they would smile, huge beaming smiles that made Harley think he was missing an integral piece to the puzzle that was their friendship. 

Usually, Peter came over on weekdays after school to work in the labs, do his homework and continue his actual internship and afterwards he would head out on his patrol. 

Usually he would bring Ned with him, claiming that Ned was his guy in the chair. Tony would offer the fact that he had an ai named Karen in his suit but Peter would protest that it wasn't the same. 

He didn't normally have Mj with him but she seemed to only miraculously show up whenever Pepper was there. 

But today, both Ned and Mj were there and somehow, Peter wasn't. 

“Hey Ned, Mj.” Harley greeted. Ned's upset frown deeped and Mj shifted. “Where's Peter?” 

“He's on patrol.” MJ huffed. She sounded disapproving, angry and maybe worried? It was small but Harley was sure it was there. 

Ned gently tapped at his ear and Harley caught sight of the comm that was fitted there. Once Tony was sure that there was no convincing Ned to not be the guy in the chair, he created some more stable equipment for the two to work with. 

A full on room, complete with four chairs and a multitude of screens that both Karen and Friday watched over. 

Ned looked upset too. There was a downwards tug at his lip and a worried glint in his eyes that had Harley worrying as well. 

“He's on patrol? Now?” Harley asked. Ned sat down at the desk and started switching on screens.

“Yeah.” Mj answered shortly, sitting right next to Ned. Their thighs brushed together for a brief second and Harley could see Ned's anxious keyboard clicking slow. 

“Is he okay?” Harley asked sitting down next to Mj. She gave him a weird look, probably wondering why he chose to sit near her instead of Ned and Harley realized with a jolt that this was the longest conversation he'd ever had with her. 

Instead of commenting on that, MJ- _ thankfully _ -focused on his question. 

She turned to him, her face completely serious and hard. “Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary with Peter lately?” 

Harley frowned and thought hard. 

There hadn't been anything obviously different about him. He was definitely a little quieter, a little more reserved. Maybe a little more thoughtful. 

“I mean, he's been quiet recently.” Harley offered. “Tony asked him if he wanted to help out in the lab the other day and he said no.” 

Ned looked over at that, his face concerned. “He wouldn't ever do that unless something was  _ really _ wrong.” 

Harley frowned as he remembered Nebula's warning, telling him that Peter quit track and Flash's demand to ‘find out what was wrong with him’. 

“Did he quit band?” 

Mj nodded slowly. “He hasn't quit anything else yet.” 

Harley knew she meant decathlon. From what Peter has said, decathlon means a  _ lot  _ to Mj and Harley doesn't think he would quit that, no matter  _ what  _ was going on. 

“But you think he might?” 

MJ's knowing look faltered slightly and she frowned. “I'm not sure.”

“He won't let us talk to him” Ned interrupted. “At least, not about how he's feeling. The comm is on listen only.” 

Harley blinked. “Okay so something is  _ wrong _ . He won't even talk about it with you guys, he quit band and he doesn't even want to be down in the lab. Should we tell Tony?” 

Mj and Ned shared a look before they both shook their heads. 

“Peter said he would be fine.” Ned sighed. “He told us not to worry about him.” 

“Yeah, but you don't believe him. And you're worrying anyway.” Harley pointed out. 

“He told us not to tell Tony.” Mj said, cutting to the chase. “I don't think he wants to worry him.” 

“Well that's too bad.” Harley decided. “He's worrying me, he's worrying you and he's worrying Ned, he's gonna have to worry Tony too.” 

Harley turned to go find Tony when Mj stopped him by holding his arm. 

“Can you just try to talk to him before telling Tony?” She asked. Harley wanted to protest but he could remember many a time when Peter would find him shaking and sobbing and when he would ask Peter to keep it between them, he would. 

“I-yeah.” Harley nodded. “I can do that.” 

…

Peter wasn't as hard to find as Harley thought he'd be. 

He went over to May's to see if Peter was there and found him on the roof of the apartment building. 

He was kicking his legs on the edge and Harley sat down next to him, also allowing his legs to dangle over the edge. 

There was a moment of silence, and then:

“Did Mj and Ned send you?”

“Yes. But Nebula and Fart did too.” 

Peter turn, a confused look on his face before it dawned on him. “Do you mean Flash?” 

“That's what I said.” 

“Uh huh.” Peter nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips. Harley felt relief at that small smile but then it melted into confusion. “Wait, Flash told you to check on me?”

“I mean, I think so?” Harley rubbed the back of his neck. “He asked in a really convoluted and rude way, but yeah.” 

“Hmm.” 

“So does that mean you need checking up on?” 

Peter frowned. He looked out over the city with an emotion in his eyes that Harley couldn't decipher. 

“Maybe.” He said after a moment. “I'm just, not feeling well.” 

“Not feeling well?” Harley asked softly, prompting Peter to continue. 

“It's just‐  It's been getting harder to do things lately. Getting up, eating, sleeping.” Peter admitted, the exhaustion in his voice physically paining Harley. “The basic things.” 

Something clicked in Harley's mind. 

Quitting band, avoiding his friends, seeming more sad and introspective. 

Back when his dad left, there was a period when his mom wouldn't leave her room. She would stay there in the dark and Harley had to beg her to eat and take care of herself. 

It was hard, Harley had to deal with a lot, alone, as a kid. He could hardly help his mother, but it didn't have to be the same with his brother. 

Peter must have taken his silence for disappointment because he pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his leg. 

“I'm sorry...I'm sorry I'm like this.” 

“Hey, hey no.” Harley placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You have nothing to apologize for. It's perfectly normal to feel like this.” 

Peter peered up at him with glazed and tired eyes. “Is it?” 

“Of course.” Harley nodded. “If you need to cry, then cry. it's okay. I'm here.”

Peter blinked once, twice before his shoulders tightened and he took a shuddering breath in. Harley watched him buried his face into him knees. He hesitantly curled an arm around him and Peter allowed himself to be pulled to lean on Harley's shoulder. 

“I've got you Peter. It'll be okay. We'll figure this out together." 

That was a promise that Harley intended to keep. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm definitely planning on elaborating on Flash and Peter's relationship, Nebula's feelings, Peter's depression and Ned, Mj and Peter in a later fic so be ready for that.


End file.
